Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1887-03-16
CHARGES AGAINST MIR. SPARKS.


CHARGES AGAINST MIR. SPARKS.
Hill for President and Himself for
| Vice President.
THE LETTERS NOT TO BIZ OBTAINED, HOWEVER, AND
| HE DENIES WRITING THEM THE WHOLE NATTER
| APPARENTLY AN OUTGROwTH OF MR.. SPARKS
REFUSAL TO ALLOW THE BENSON CLAIM FOR SUR
| vEYING WESTERN LANDS
VIM. Z. Curtis, the correspondent OF the Chicago
| Ne,0s, In dispatch to his paper, charges Com
| missioner Sparks, Of the land office, with having
written letters to politicians in New York for the
purpose Of defeating the nomination Of Cleveland
for the presidency and to secure the nomination OF
Hill, with Sparks as the candidate for Vice Presf-
dent. The correspondent says: my friend told
me that these two letters in the hands OF Ed
| ward s. Stokes, the proprietor OF the Holman
House in New York, and that they could be had
for publication. He said also that Frank Hurd, the
brilliant young ngex-COngreSsmanf from Toledo, knew
all about them, and would doubtless aid me In Sc
| curing them. saw Mr.. Hurd at Wormley's Hotel
| IN this city. He said that such letters as l
| described were in existence, and that had
| not been misinformed as to their purport.
Whether they were addressed to Gov. Hill himself
or to some friend, ne could not say. He could not
assist me to secure them for publication without
the consent of his clients, who were involved in
| some mysterious way, and from whom he had
learned OF the existence of the documents. He
preferred not to be mixed up in the matter, as he
| had cases involving large sums Of money and
large interests pending before Sparks I next
saw Mr. Stokes at the Hoffman house. When
| explained what my errand was, he grew quite ex-
| cited, and said he would not have the letters
published Tor quarter OF a million dollars, ana
made it very clear that he did not intend give me
the letters and had no desire to them in print
| He referred me to Mr.. Hurd, and remarked that
Mr.: Hurd was his attorney and knew all about the
letters. Mr.. Hurd Said the time was not ripe for
| the publication OF the letters"
Mr.. Curtis says he later aScertatned that Mr.
Hurd is the attorney for the Nevada bank of San
| Francisco that Mr. John W. Mackey has an interest
| In that bank, and as everybody knows, Mackey Is
the backer OF Stokes in the Holman house, in the
| in other enterprises The Nevada bank has
pending before the commissioner of public lands a
claim for some 100000 or SO. Mr.. Hurd is the
attorney for the prosecution OF that claim. The
claim OF the Nevada bank arises from the issue OF
certificates for the survey OF the public lands
| John A. Benson had contract for surveying a
vast quantity of public lands in California, Utah,
Nevada, Arizona, and other parts OF the west, and
there being no money available to pay him Tor his
cashed at the Nevada bank to the extent Of
! half million dollars or SO. These certificates
ne On DO were
ordered by Mr.. Durham, the first controller. They
| were sent TO the land Of1ce for payment, but
Sparks rejected them. He charged that the con-
tracts were conceived in fraud and executed in
| 1niQuity. 1t was conspiracy TO rob the govern
to the
as claimed, or that he had been ordered to do SO
| by Sparks predecessor in ONCE. The contracts
were legal on their face and there was no evidence
| that they had not been executed. But there had
been no need OF making the surveys The lands,
great part were barren deserts on which no
waste OF money hence he declined to pay the bills
| 1t made Controller Durham very indignant that
| an account which he had approved had been pro-
| nOunced a fraud and a sw1ndle, whereupon the
controller addressed letter to Sparks, directing
him to pay the Benson claim at once, assuming TO
| be his superior officer. Sparks replied promptly
| and perelnptor1ly that he would not do 1t. That
| the claim was fraud and he knew it, and as long
not be paid. He also denied that Durham was his
superior On1cer, and declined TO be dictated to by
him. The question was referred to the Attorney
General who Was asked to decide which was the
/ bigger man, Durham or Sparks Mr.. <Gariand
sent the cOnundrum to Solicitor jerks for an
answer, and the latter decided chat they were In
dependent OF each other, so Tar as they were
| officially concerned That Mr.. Sparks had no
| authority TO review the decision OF Durham, and
he should or what he should not do In other
| words, Mr.. Durham could lead Mr. Sparks to the
trough, but he could not compel him to drink.
The execution OF warrant on the Treasury was
discretionary with an officer like Mr.. Sparks, who
had the right to withhold payment OF accounts
| that had been examined and allowed at the Treas
ury, provided he felt there good reason Tor so
dong. In the Benson claim Sparks insisted there
was fraud. anu IL he believed so it was manifestly
proper Tor him TO decline to order its payment.
Gen. Sparks Sweeping Denial.
Gen. Sparks said to STAR reporter to-day, in
reference to the letters said to have been written
by him: "The statement is unqualifediy false and
made out OF whole cloth. l never wrote such leI-
tiers; never saw GOV. Hill; never received letter
| from bim, and never wrote to him. l deny the
| whole thing"
Mr.. Sparks challenges the production of any
such letters. saying he hopes MI. Stokes In whose
| hands the statement placed them, Will make
public any letters he may have. II any such
letters as described appear he can prove them TO be
With regard to the disagreement between him
ana First controller Durham he said that the case
was just this: The accounts for the "BenSOn sur
veys," the auditing OF which is in the hands OF the
commissioner OF the general land Office, were dis
| allowed by Mr. Sparks, and were never sent to
| Controller Durham. The controller wrote to Mr.
Sparks to forward the accounts to him, that he
might act upon them. This Mr. Sparks says he
refused to do, as he was not going to allow the
| accounts, except such as be approved as auditor.
His reason for disalowing the accounts, he said,
were misstated. They were under contracts made
10y his predecessor IL was true, he said, but the
surveys had never been made. He disaliowed the
contracts not because the contracts ought not to
| have been made but because the service under
| the contracts had never been performed. MIR.
Durham or his deputy, he said, had tried to force
MIN 10 send the accounts TO The controllers Office
and had taken the matter 10 Mr.. jerks, but 1t had
been decided that he (Sparks) could do as he
| pleased about the matter.
| SECRETARY LAMAR DORS NOT BELIEVE IT.
gentleman In conversation with Secretary
| Lamar this morning called his attention to this
matter, AID the Secretary said that he did not be-
| lteve that Gen. Sparks had written such letters.
| CONTROLLER DURHAM SAYS
that the only thing between him and Mr.. Sparks
Is that he requested the latter to furnish him
tain accounts, as he thought he had right to d.
and Mr.. Sparks disputed his authority.
| Society Notes.
Mrs. Cleveland and her guest, Mrs. Jewett OF
Buffalo, returned from Oak View to the White
House yesterday afternoon. Mrs. Jewett will
probably return to her home on Thursday. The
next guest OF the White House will be Mrs. HOyt,
| the Presidents sister, who has great many
friends here.
Mrs. Folsom will not return soon from jackson.
Miss Waite and Miss Genie Matthews who went
to New orleans and Florida as the guests OF Mr..
and Mrs. Moore in their special car win return to
the city sometime In the latter part Of the week.
The Chief Justice and Mrs Waite gave an in
formal family dinner last evening to the Cincin-
natl guests OF their son, MIR. c. c. Waite The
dinner party was made up of Mr8. C. C. Waite,
Mr. and Mrs. Barney, Mr.. and Mrs. Mitchell oi
Cincinnati, Mrs. o. Ferr1ss who is visiting Mrs.
Waite and Mrs. Adds. Mr.. C. C. Waite is In New
| York, and the party that has been with him to